Why Multiple Cylinder Forms Are Best
Owing to the vibration which obtains from the heavy explosion in the large single-cylinder engines used for stationary power other forms were evolved in which the cylinder was smaller and power obtained by running the engine faster, but these are suitable only for very low powers.
When a single-cylinder engine is employed a very heavy fly-wheel is needed to carry the moving parts through idle strokes necessary to obtain a power impulse. For this reason automobile and aircraft designers must use more than one cylinder, and the tendency is to produce power by frequently occurring light impulses rather than by a smaller number of explosions having greater force. When a single-cylinder motor is employed the construction is heavier than is needed with a multiple-cylinder form. Using two or more cylinders conduces to steady power generation and a lessening of vibration. Most modern motor cars employ four-cylinder engines because a power impulse may be secured twice every revolution of the crank-shaft, or a total of four power strokes during two revolutions. The parts are so arranged that while the charge of gas in one cylinder is exploding, those which come next in firing order are compressing, discharging the inert gases and drawing in a fresh charge respectively. When the power stroke is completed in one cylinder, the piston in that member in which a charge of gas has just been compressed has reached the top of its stroke and when the gas is exploded the piston is reciprocated and keeps the crank-shaft turning. When a multiple-cylinder engine is used the fly-wheel can be made much lighter than that of the simpler form and eliminated altogether in some designs. In fact, many modern multiple-cylinder engines developing 300 horse-power weigh less than the early single- and double-cylinder forms which developed but one-tenth or one-twentieth that amount of energy.